The Ronny Boy was
in her death throes. Hit amidships by flak, the
B-17G’s bomb bay and right wing were burning. The
date was August 24, 1944, it was 1200 hours and the
location was northwest of Merseberg, Germany.[1]
This was the 20th mission for Ronny Boy,
this time deep in the heart of Germany. The target
was the Luana Oil Refinery at Merseberg.[2]

In the nose of the doomed B-17 the
Navigator 2nd Lieutenant Ewan Siddall and
Bombardier 2nd Lieutenant Russell Wolfe
prepared to bail out. Siddall said “I only remember
the order to prepare to bail out and the order to
bail out. The rest is a blank for me. I do
remember when I exited the aircraft the bombs were
released at the same time. So for the first part of
my trip down, I’m nose to nose with the bombs. I
counted to 15 as we were trained to do and pulled my
ripcord. The bombs and I parted company for the
rest of the trip down. I was the first one out of
the aircraft.[3]

Wolfe picks up the story “When the order
to prepare to bail out was given, the first order of
business was to put on our chutes. Siddall helped
my secure my parachute, then his own. I went to my
position in the nose and released my bombs. I then
made for the exit door behind our compartment and
bailed out second.”[4]

Top Turret Gunner
Technical Sergeant Thomas Jewell whose position was
right behind the pilots tells his story “We took
flak through the bomb bay and the right wing. I
tried to assess the damage, but the heat and flames
were too great to enter the bomb bay. 1st
Lieutenant Don Bruns our Pilot went out over the
intercom with the order to prepare to bail out. The
waist gunner Staff Sergeant Raymond Grow reported
that the right wing was on fire. Bruns then gave
the order to bail out. The last thing I heard over
the intercom before it went dead was the radio
operator Technical Sergeant Harry Dupee saying ‘take
it easy Gammons, I’ll help you out.’[5] Staff Sergeant Marvin Gammons was the Ball
Turret gunner. I was the engineer on that plane and
the Ball Turret had some problems in the past, but I
know that it was working for that mission. The only
thing I could figure is the Ball Turret had
sustained damaged when the plane was hit.”[6]

Jewell continues
his story, “I was supposed to be third out of the
front of the aircraft but was having trouble
buckling my chute, so I told the Co-Pilot Lieutenant
Teran he should go in front of me. After securing
it, I ducked down between the two pilot’s seats and
jumped out right after Lieutenant Teran.”[7]

This left 1st
Lieutenant Donald Bruns flying the aircraft. Bruns
had no way of knowing what was happening in the rear
of the aircraft. The fire was not only blocking
access to the rear of the aircraft it had also
knocked out the communications system. Lieutenant
Bruns held the plane as long as he could in level
flight after giving the order to bail out, then set
the auto-pilot and bailed out. The planes in
formation around the Ronny Boy reported seeing only
six chutes for nine crew members.[8] In the rear of the plane, tailgunner Prigmore
went out via the tail escape door. He reported
seeing someone in the waist section by the door, but
couldn’t identify who he’d seen there.[9]

The time is now 1215 hours and the Ronny
boy is spinning into the ground carrying three men
to their deaths. The other six men are descending
deep into Germany. Lieutenant Siddall picks up his
story “I landed in the backyard of someone’s house.
What I thought was a very nervous 12 year old German
boy points a Lugar at my head saying Chicago
Gangster, Yankee Rapist, Murderer. Luckily I landed
right next to a German flak battery and the soldiers
arrived quickly and took me prisoner. While being
escorted back through the battery I saw a plane
crash and explode in the distance. The Germans
gunners let out a cheer, and I decided that there
were worse things in the world than being shot
down. 6o years later I would learn that the plane I
saw crash was most likely the Ronny Boy.”

Siddall said “The
Germans brought me back and put me in a room that
had a long narrow bench. It felt like 90 degrees on
the ground that day, and I was wearing my flight
suit, so I was very uncomfortable. I laid down on
the bench and promptly fell asleep. It had been a
very exciting day, and I guess it took its toll on
me. The next day I was put on a train to Frankfurt,
where I was reunited with the 5 other survivors of
my crew. We were taken to Dulag Luft, and then I
was sent to Stalag Luft III after my interrogation.”[10]

Russ Wolfe landed
in a small village and was assaulted by the local
townspeople. He was beaten badly before the
military could arrive to take him prisoner. He
ended up in Stalag Luft III as well.[11]

The Pilots Bruns
and Teran were both captured upon landing and put on
the train the next day to Dulag Luft. Teran said “I
was picked up in a truck by the military, which was
good as there were two civilians coming across a
field towards me. On the truck was Russ Wolfe.
When we tried to speak we were told to shut up by
our captors.”[12] Both Teran and Bruns ended up in Stalag Luft
III. Tailgunner Prigmore ended up with the rest of
his crew on the train to Frankfurt. He spent the
remainder of the war in Stalag Luft IV.

Jewell continues
his story “I landed on top of a flak battery. Our
plane had crashed about ½ mile from their location
on a knoll. They brought pieces of the plane to
show me, which had markings on it that I recognized
as being from Ronny Boy. They also brought me a
book that Prigmore had left in the tail section. I
was put on the train to Frankfurt and ended up at
Dulag Luft. While there, one of the officers
interrogating me told me they had found two crew
members in the wreckage. I didn’t know if he was
bluffing me looking for information. It later
turned out to be true. The bodies of Gammons and
Grow were found in the wreckage, Dupee’s body a
short distance away.”[13] Jewell spent the remainder of the war in
Stalag Luft IV.

When the Germans
inspected the downed aircraft they discovered the
bodies of Gammons, Grow and Dupee, either in the
wreckage or close by. The aircraft had come down 2
kilometers east of Burgstaden.[14] When told the of Jewell’s story of that day
in the tail section, Siddall said “It wouldn’t
surprise me in the least that they died trying to
free Gammons. Whenever the enlisted men had a pass,
Gammons, Grow and Dupee would go together. They
were best friends, and they probably thought they
had time to get him out.”[15]
The six survivors of the Ronny Boy were
liberated the following spring from prison camps
across Germany and returned home. Grow and Dupee
were single when they were killed, Grow being an
only child and Dupee leaving behind a brother.
Gammons left behind a wife, Ruby, in Nashville,
Tennessee. The three men are buried in the
Margraten Cemetery in the Netherlands.[16]